An enormous curtain of light plummeted from the heavens, carrying with it an unstoppable disaster.
Cracks emerged and spread across every corner of the world, creating massive fissures between each continent.
A vast line of flames expanded across the charred cliffs.
Meteors plunged from the roaring clouds, screaming with their descent until their impact.
Sand dunes were hurled in a whirlpool, dumping all civilizations like a drain. Great cities were engulfed in the impenetrable wall of radiance, and giant glaciers plunged into the ocean before shattering into tiny pieces.
And then to the west, grasslands seared to a crisp, all maliciously swept away with the consuming radiance.
Decades, centuries, and even millennia of work… obliterated.
Not even the skies were spared.
The engulfing light swallowed every star in the night sky, wringing the once-blue hue of the atmosphere into the boiling shade of crimson.
The rapid change in colors that followed the shift enticed limitless thunderstorms and pillars of poisonous magenta light to follow in its tracks.
Before the catastrophe, this world had thrived and prospered under the Adtraic Gods' dominion.
All, however, perished and were pulverized into a sea of fire, ash, and brightness.
Much like this world's burning and collapsing soil, so was it felt in the heart of one of the Adtraic gods.
"Our world..."
A boy with snow-white hair, gray eyes, and fair skin stood atop an ash mountain, bewildered and dreading what stood before him.
As he passed through the molten winds, a brown scarf blew away from his arms.
"No. So much has already been lost. I will not stand by and watch as the unknown takes another thing I care about." He grieved.
Just as it flew away, he desperately reached for the scarf, keeping it near his chest like a mother would for her child.
The boy's name was Asahi, one of the three children of the Adtraic family.
Despite possessing unimaginable power, he could do nothing more than watch the destruction of his family's world unfold.
As if mocking him, the sky began to glow brighter, illuminating the land below.
The very same sight that he witnessed when he arrived in this world.
This was the end.
"I'm sorry…."
His voice echoed throughout the mountains, echoing back to him.
It was a lonely sound.
One that no one else would ever hear again.
"I just want a peaceful life."
With his head down, Asahi slowly turned around.
He gazed upon the world he loved and cherished, knowing it was forever gone.
There was no longer any reason to stay.
And yet, he couldn't bring himself to leave.
He felt compelled to remain here.
Even though everything was annihilated, he wanted to witness how far this calamity would reach.
But someone stopped him.
"Asahi!" A distant voice shouted.
The boy tilted upward and saw a faint light cast above his head. A slender pale arm emerged from the collapsing stone, giving off pathways of light and hope.
He desperately reached over to it and saw a white-haired girl pulling him up the collapsing chasm.
"We have to leave." She trembled as a silver-haired girl followed her back.
Afterward, the siblings sprinted across the scorching fields, watching as a cluster of meteors pierced through the clouds. Both their white hair reflected the blazing orange hues flooding the sky. And much like the reflection, so was their despair among the world.
They ran through the ravaged lands, trying to escape the wrath of the unknown.
In the distance, the two heard the screams of those still trapped within the city's walls.
Their cries echoed across the sky, begging for help.
But there was no way for them to save anyone.
All they could do was run.
Run away.
Far, far away.
***
"That's ours! Give it back!"
* * * * *
Suddenly, as if it was some sort of film, the smoldering world was replaced with the sight of a forest with emerald green trees, vast meadows, tall sienna mountains, and rivers across the horizon; a completely different view.
"Get back here, you thief!" Two siblings screamed as their feet flew across thick brown dirt and leaves. Their gray eyes shot at a person cloaked in a long dark hood through a forest.
The thief's eyes glanced behind, noticing a girl catching up to him.
"Stop, and give us that relic back!" She hollered as she pushed her white bangs to the side, dashing across the forest.
"Goodness, I couldn't even spot you from a meter away with the attire you have on." Mumbled the cloaked-individual as he leaped across a ravine.
Appearing straight from behind, a white-haired boy with a brown fluffy scapular attached to his shoulder leaped into the air, anchoring all his attention at the thief's movements.
"I won't allow anyone to take that scarf like the winds did ten years ago." As he muttered this, he amplified his pace, and propelled himself across the ravine with a magical white luminance; the girl following his tracks.
Trees around him flew across his vision like a blur, flying across the environment until his eyes met with the cloaked individual once more. He tightened his transparent gloves and conjured a dazzling white light around him, preparing to retrieve the object in the thief's hands.
The moment he lost touch of it, rage erupted in his eyes.
Cradled in the thief's gloves was a long unearthly scarf coated in hues of brown.
The reminiscent aura emanating from the scarf heavily implied that this scarf was far more valuable than just some ordinary scarf. Just before Asahi's fists could reach the thief, the cloaked individual narrowly scrambled to a thick patch of bushes, vanishing into the shadows.
"You're not getting away that easy!"
A moment later, the thief appeared from the bushes, holding an old wooden sword with a red blade. He swung the weapon, aiming for the boy's heart.
Asahi dodged the attack, then immediately struck back with his own, sending a powerful blow toward the thief's stomach. However, the thief quickly rolled to the ground, evading the attack.
"How many times do I have to tell you? Don't underestimate your opponent!"
The golden beams of sunlight peeked through the clouds and treetops, the warm afternoon air whistled through the trees, and birds sang their tunes. While he was running, the breeches around Asahi's waist and the star design hanging in front of his chest flew with the silent wind.
"If you don't want to get hurt, " He said as he prepared to grab the scarf once more, "you should never fight me alone."
The thief snickered while he jumped back out of the shadows, swinging his blade again.
Nevertheless, Asahi wasn't going to let him escape. His close-fitting gloves glowed a brilliant white as he unleashed a punch that sent the thief flying back.
"Don't underestimate me either," the thief said as he landed on the ground. "I'm not the type who can get knocked out by a simple, 'magical' punch."
"It appears you have forgotten who we are." Asahi said with a smile. "We're gods."
Suddenly, from the shadows, a girl with long white hair intruded the area, clutching the tip of the brown scarf and wrapping it around the cloaked individual like a rope. Her evening gloves absorbed the sunlight, flying around as she struggled to pull the scarf back.
In reaction, the thief hurriedly snatched the scarf from Aletha's hands and skidded his feet away from the two siblings, questioning.
"H...Huh? How is that even possible? You two don't even look-
Simultaneously, Asahi invaded the attack, bolted to the thief, and showed a cheeky smirk.
"Surprised?"
The thief gulped, froze still, and answered tremblingly. "N...Nope." Asahi shook his head.
"Tsk Tsk Tsk." He then clutched the thief's neck with his metal arm and engulfed his hands in a magical white light. As the thief struggled to move, Asahi hollered at a white-haired girl approaching from behind.
"Aletha, grab the scarf now!"
She snapped her fingers and hollered back, giving a subtle wink.
"Right on it, bro!"
After she climbed the cliff and barreled into the area, the girl hastily romped toward the brown scarf and clutched the tip of its fabric. She then charged at the thief and swung the long, shimmering scarf around him, as done previously, but this time, it was actually attached.
Before the thief could breach out from the soft fabric, Asahi bolted toward the other side and squeezed the thief tightly with the scarf, suffocating and hurting him, forcing him to cry.
"NO!" He gasped, collapsed onto the ground, swayed his arms, and cried loudly.
"Okay, okay! You win."
Asahi lifted his chin and squeezed his fists. As he responded, a cold, complex, frost penuriousness was shown on his prevalent face.
"I'm annoyed that someone like you would take something for no apparent reason."
Aletha shook her head and sighed contemptuously as she heard the thief implore loudly to Asahi.
"Okay! Stop squeezing me! Please, I'll do anything. I will even tell you why. The reason why I snagged your scarf is that it looked like mine."
Aletha drilled the thief's eyes with a cold glance of disapproval; her white pupils glowing as she saw the aura of lies float in the thief's false face.
After grasping the situation, the girl shook her head and objected.
"You're lying! That thief didn't steal the scarf because of a misunderstanding. He stole it because he thought he could sell it!"
Asahi's eyes dragged his hawkish gaze back at the thief's little, entangled legs and tightened his fists with rage. In a dour expression, he knelt back to the thief and uttered.
"Is this true? Were you trying to sell our family's scarf because you just wanted some sick fortune?"
The thief cowered with a begging smile.
"N... No... not at all! If you could JUST listen to me, maybe you will understand--
Aletha sneered at him, crossed her arms, and shot her eyes at the thief with a look of truth.
"He's lying."
Asahi squeezed the thief harder, forcing the thief's face to turn blue and his legs to flail all over the place. The thief cried out.
"AHH... I can't... I can't breathe! PLEASE! Dear god, give me mercy!"
After Aletha saw the thief choke and cough to death from the pressure of Asahi's grip, a shameful and pitiful feeling emerged in her. She muttered shamefully, seeing the thief cry and squander.
"I can't afford to see this no longer."
Before any more pain could be inflicted on the thief, Aletha nagged her brother's arm and yelled.
"Hey, Asahi, you can stop now. I don't want to see anyone die. Just keep that thief from escaping. I need to have a word with him."
Asahi weakened his grip and glanced downward at the thief quietly. He then turned back and answered Aletha with an infuriated tone.
"There is no reason why we should spare such a being. I understand we are not from this world, but I can't fathom why such a being like him would steal something like that from us."
Aletha looked upward and made a thoughtful look.
"Because... I don't believe that he is THAT evil. The only reason why he was lying is that he was scared."
The thief hurriedly shook his head as he felt relief fly into him at last.
"Yeah, yeah, you tell him!" The thief clamored as he trembled in shock.
Aletha chuckled dismissively, smirked at the cloaked man, knelt down, and muttered confidently.
"Now, don't get cocky now. If you continue to act that way, I may allow my brother to hurt you. Stop being a liar, and tell us the REAL reason why you decided to rob our scarf away from us."
"NO, DON'T!"
The thief pleaded as he caught a glimpse of Asahi's hateful look burns in his eyes. He took a deep sigh and grumbled.
"Fine, I'll tell you." With that retort pushed out of the way, Aletha smiled and nodded, leading the entangled thief to a tree with Asahi.
* * * * * * * *
Then, without any moment to take a breather, Aletha immediately interrogated the thief.
"So, why did you steal our scarf? I want an honest answer, not some lame one such as, 'oh, I want to sell this for money.' The best thing you could get from this scarf is five coins, and that's on a good day." Aletha mocked the thief as she crossed her arms.
The thief gulped, shook his head, and tried to remain silent with sweat sliding down his pale face. He kept his shadow-veiled eyes on Aletha. Then when she wasn't looking, he scanned the place to escape the siblings. But before he could even think of running, Asahi stepped forward and sneered at him with his gunmetal gray eyes, warning.
"Don't even think about it."
The cloaked individual hunched his shoulders and gulped, feeling the absolute power radiating within Asahi. He knew well that if he were to intervene or even try to escape, he would be slaughtered by him on the spot. So, in regards to that, he did what any normal person would do in this situation.
"Bye!"
Without warning, the thief fled off with the scarf in a hurry, leaving behind a trail of footprints in the dirt.
"What a coward..."
Aletha sighed in disappointment and turned her attention back to the thief.
"Well, I guess we have no choice. Chase after that liar!"
With that said, Aletha and Asahi continued their pursuit of the thief. The shrouded man dashed across the woodland, evading trees and branches. His boots crunched against the powdered dirt as he blew through the cool and warm air. He continued running until he came to a tiny clearing in the trees and halted.
The thief knelt, clasped his hands together, and prayed.
"I'm nearly there. Only a few more meters..."
Just as he finished praying, the thief heard the sound of footsteps approaching from the direction of the clearing.
"...then we all can go home."